In the third quarter of 2009, Telenor’s reported revenues increased by 4 per cent compared to the third quarter of 2008, reaching NOK 24.3 billion. The operating profit increased by 14 per cent to NOK 4.5 billion. Telenor’s mobile operations added 4 million subscriptions during the quarter, reaching a total of 172 million.
“In the third quarter of 2009 we delivered a solid EBITDA margin, and revenue trends in line with the previous quarters this year. The strong EBITDA, combined with continued capex control resulted in a high operating cash flow,” said Jon Fredrik Baksaas, President and CEO of Telenor.
Telenor’s regions
“The Nordic operations are on track to deliver on the NOK 10 billion cash flow target.
In Asia, Telenor Pakistan shows good progress towards reaching cash flow break even in 2010, while Grameenphone continued to deliver very strong results. In October, the subscription period related to Grameenphone’s initial public offering (IPO) was initiated. There has been high interest related to the IPO, and trading of the share is anticipated to start in November 2009.
Our operations in Central and Eastern Europe continued to be affected by the economic downturn, however the margins and operating cash flow remained strong. During the quarter, 2008 dividends for Kyivstar were declared and will be paid within year-end 2009,” Baksaas said.
Creating a leading emerging markets mobile operator
“On 4 October Telenor and Altimo entered into an agreement to create a new leading emerging markets mobile operator, VimpelCom Ltd, by combining the parties’ assets in Kyivstar and OJSC VimpelCom. The new company will be headquartered in the Netherlands and we expect to complete the related transactions by mid-2010,” Baksaas continued.
On track with Uninor in India
“In India the activity level is high and we are on track to launch services in the fourth quarter of 2009. During the quarter the Uninor name was announced and additional key agreements related to tower sharing, GSM equipment and national roaming were signed. On 19 October 2009, the Foreign Investment Promotion Board’s recommendation to approve Telenor’s shareholding in Unitech Wireless of 67.25% was approved,” Baksaas said.
Cost control and improved efficiency
“We continue to scale our activities to be aligned with the current business environment. We expect that our focus on cost control and improved efficiency will enable us to deliver a slightly stronger EBITDA margin and lower investments than originally anticipated for 2009,” Baksaas said.
Key figures
The table below contains pro forma key figures (including Kyivstar) for the third quarter of 2009, compared to the previous year:
|
|
Third quarter
|
Year
|
|
|
(NOK in millions except earnings per share)
|
2009
|
2008
|
2008
|
|
Revenues
|
26 530
|
27 265
|
110 970
|
|
EBITDA before other income and expenses
|
10 055
|
10 050
|
38 491
|
|
EBITDA margin before other income and expenses (%)
|
37.9
|
36.9
|
35.0
|
|
Adjusted operating profit
|
6 041
|
6 113
|
22 640
|
|
Adjusted operating profit/Revenues (%)
|
22.8
|
22.4
|
20.6
|
|
Net income attributable to equity holders of Telenor ASA
|
3 489
|
2 995
|
13 065
|
|
Earnings per share from total operations, basic, in NOK
|
2.11
|
1.80
|
7.83
|
|
Capex
|
4 785
|
4 001
|
22 715
|
|
Capex excl. licences and spectrum
|
4 785
|
4 001
|
20 680
|
|
Capex excl. licences and spectrum/Revenues (%)
|
18.0
|
14.7
|
18.8
|
|
Operating cash flow
|
5 270
|
6 049
|
17 811
|
|
Net interest-bearing liabilities
|
27 158
|
31 396
|
39 309
|
For more information please refer to the quarterly report on
In connection with the publication of the financial results, a press and analyst conference will be held on Thursday 29 October at 09:00 hrs Norwegian time/CET. The presentation will be held in Auditorium A, Telenor Expo Visitors’ Centre, at the Telenor Headquarters at Fornebu outside Oslo. President and CEO Jon Fredrik Baksaas and CFO Trond Westlie will present the results. All presentations will be given in English.
For more information about the Telenor Group, please visit www.telenorgroup.com
